There is only one week left for residents of the Illinois town of Evanston to submit an application for a monthly payment program that will provide them $500 each month for a year.
For the pilot initiative, Northwestern has contributed $400,000, and additional financing has been provided by the American Rescue Plan, the City of Evanston, and the Evanston Community Foundation.
Jonathan Guryan, a professor in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University and a faculty fellow in the Institute for Policy Research, is working with Phoebe Lin, Claire Mackevicius, and Sheridan Fuller to conduct a study that will assess the effectiveness of the pilot program and provide information for future initiatives to combat poverty.
Dave Davis, senior executive director of Neighborhood and Community Relations at Northwestern, said, "Northwestern is thrilled to partner with the City of Evanston to launch its first Guaranteed Income Pilot Program."
"Northwestern is committed to fostering innovative solutions to our city's most pressing challenges, namely inequality and economic insecurity. Guaranteed Income programs treat recipients with dignity in determining how best to spend the money," he added.
Through a lottery procedure, 150 candidates will be chosen for the scheme, which is called the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program. Participants will receive a monthly payment of $500 that will be deposited onto a prepaid debit card. In addition to money from Northwestern University and the city of Evanston, the initiative is funded by $700,000 from the 2021 American Rescue Plan, according to a news release from the latter.
"These programs provide assistance with no strings attached, giving recipients the ability to spend the funds in the way that makes the most sense for them and their families," Mayor Daniel Biss said.
The initiative will have a research component that will enable researchers from Northwestern University to assess the program's effects. Its purpose is to explore the consequences of guaranteed income that people get.
Participants must be residents of Evanston and have family incomes at or below 250% of the federal poverty level in order to be eligible. Additionally, candidates must be 62 years of age or older and undocumented community members between the ages of 18 and 24.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty threshold for people residing in the United States in 2021 was $12,880 for a household of one person and $26,500 for a home with four people, with Alaska and Hawaii being the exceptions.
For this program, applications are accepted until Aug. 29. The program will begin soon following the deadline.
